Aapti Institute
Aapti Institute works at the intersection of technology and society to develop solutions that advance societal impact, justice, and equity in the digital age. Its mission is to build an equitable and just digital world by empowering people and communities—particularly the marginalized—to meaningfully negotiate with technology. Through research, advocacy, development of participatory data stewardship frameworks, and collaborative labs, Aapti Institute envisions a future where communities have agency, rights, and fair benefits in digital environments.
Theory of Change
Inputs
Funding from donors/partners
Technical and research expertise
Policy/advocacy capacity
Relationships with civil society, government, and international partners
Activities
Cross-sectoral research
Tool and framework development
Community and stakeholder engagement
Training and capacity building
Policy advocacy
Publication and dissemination
Outputs
Published tools, guides, and reports
Pilots of participatory data and tech models
Workshops, consultations, and convenings
Adoption of frameworks in policy and organizational practice
Outcomes
Enhanced community agency and autonomy over data/tech
More equitable and inclusive digital governance
Strengthened stakeholder ecosystems for digital justice
Policy reforms and scaled solutions for digital equity
Programs
1. Fostering Participatory Data Stewardship
This program promotes participatory and community-centered data governance models that prioritize collective benefits and empower marginalized groups. It spans sectoral strategies (environment, healthcare, urban governance), produces toolkits (Stewardship Navigator), and offers frameworks for policymakers, technologists, and communities.
Research funding
Sectoral insights
Participatory design expertise
Technical capacity
Collaborations with stakeholders
Develop sector-specific frameworks and playbooks
Create and deploy participatory tools (e.g., Stewardship Navigator)
Conduct stakeholder consultations and training
Disseminate research outputs
Engage with public policy
Publications: frameworks and toolkits
Adopted sectoral strategies
Published case studies and playbooks
Workshops and training sessions held
Increased community participation in data decisions
More equitable sectoral data governance systems
Empowered local actors as data stewards
Informed public policy with participatory practices
2. Data Economy Lab
A research and advocacy initiative to promote responsible, human-centric data governance via data stewardship, exploring legal, policy, and technological challenges. The Lab creates knowledge, amplifies narratives, builds communities, and translates theory into practice in the data economy.
Research funding
Policy expertise
Technical teams
Partnerships (practitioners, policymakers, technologists, civil society)
Deep-dive sector studies
Conduct policy research and advocacy
Disseminate narratives through publications and events
Convene experts and stakeholders
Pilot collaborative stewardship projects
Whitepapers and reports
Public events and webinars
Tools (Stewardship Explorer, Database of stewardship initiatives)
Pilot projects on data stewardship
Greater adoption of democratic data governance
Strengthened policy discourse
Empowered community and practitioner ecosystem
Implementation of equitable data sharing models
3. Digital Public Lab
Aapti’s Digital Public Lab aims to democratize digital access, address disparities in digital infrastructure/literacy, and build robust public-facing technology architectures. Solutions are informed by research, fieldwork, and dialogue with civil society and government, emphasizing inclusion and accountability.
Research teams
Funding and grants
Community and government partnerships
Fieldwork and desk research
Conduct embedded research and pilot studies
Organize workshops and hackathons
Develop and share toolkits and guides
Engage with line ministries and civil society
Last-mile digital literacy interventions
Published toolkits/manuals
Pilots with government partners
Blogs, policy briefs, and convenings
Improved digital access for vulnerable populations
Increased public sector capacity for digital inclusion
Enhanced trust and accountability in digital service delivery
4. Labour Standards for the AI Boom / ATLAS: Tech Labour Research Coalition
Through consultation and strategic research (including ATLAS, a coalition with Sigla Research Center and Tech Global Institute), Aapti advances labour rights in digital/AI economies. Focus areas: working conditions, standards for data workers, regional/global perspectives on AI labor rights and content moderation.
Funding
Research teams
Collaborations with international partners
Stakeholder consultations
Interviews with data and platform workers
Code of conduct development
Policy recommendations
Labour code of conduct for AI sector
Published consultation reports
Coalition-building with advocacy/research groups
Improved awareness of AI labor conditions
Enhanced standards and protections for data workers
Cross-regional research and advocacy networks
5. Building Community Tech for Climate Action / Gender-Transformative Climate Data Cooperatives (CERES)
Aapti collaborates on projects advancing bottom-up, community-driven tech for climate governance and planetary health, especially supporting women’s leadership via data cooperatives like the CERES initiative. Activities include stakeholder and cross-disciplinary workshops, case studies, and co-designing technology/data sharing models for climate justice.
Workshop funding
Expert facilitators
Data/tech tools
Community/civil society partnerships
Organizing collaborative workshops and network convenings
Participatory research with communities (urban/rural, coastal, indigenous)
Development of alternative vocabularies and system maps
Co-designing data governance and sharing models
Workshops, glossaries, and system maps
Pilots of women-led data cooperatives
Case studies on climate and gender justice
Increased women’s leadership in climate data governance
Empowered local and indigenous communities with data tools
Greater equity in global climate and environmental decision-making
Other Information
Core Values
Equity: Ensuring just, inclusive, and accessible technology and data governance
Justice: Prioritizing social, environmental, and digital rights and fairness
Participation: Fostering bottom-up, community-driven decision making
Accountability: Promoting transparent, responsible, and ethical practices
Empowerment: Strengthening communities’ ability to negotiate with technology
Collaboration: Building partnerships across sectors, geographies, and disciplines
Innovation: Pioneering new models for data stewardship, AI ethics, and digital public goods
Scale
Operations pan-India, including rural (Bidar), urban (Bangalore, Mumbai), coastal/island (Lakshadweep), and tribal (Odisha, North-East) settings
Significant global/Global South engagement, including cross-regional policy and research initiatives
Impacts measured qualitatively—adoption of frameworks, policy influence, empowerment of marginalized groups, scale of consultations and partnerships (hundreds of research outputs/views; multi-country collaboratives like ATLAS, CERES)
Affected Users
Marginalized communities (urban, rural, indigenous, women, youth)
Data workers in digital/AI supply chains
General public seeking more rights and agency in the digital world
Civil society organizations and policy actors
Developers and technology startups
Geographical Areas
India (core focus, including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Bidar, Karnataka’s urban areas, Lakshadweep, Odisha, North-East)
Global South (Asia, Africa, collaborations)
International (reference to collaborations/incubation: Canada, Namibia, Australia, Latin America, Europe, UK, USA, Singapore, Ghana, Kenya, Philippines, Jakarta, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Houston)
Contact Info
To
Sarayu Natarajan- [email protected]
Reports
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